Resume Checklist

Resume Outline

• Your resume should be a single page with the most important attributes about you. 
• There is no one way to write a resume, everything here should serve as a guide to help create your own resume. 
• Resumes exist as dynamic documents, changing and updating as you develop. It can begin as simple as a Google Doc. Have a friend/parent proofread over it for clarity and typos when you're done.

Education

In this section, include your degree, major, university name, graduation year, and GPA (if applicable). If you have relevant coursework or academic projects, highlight them to showcase your skills and knowledge.  

• Bachelors of Science...
• "B.S. General Engineering" or "B.S. Computer Science General Engineering Student"
• "Virginia Tech" or "Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University"
• Graduation year
• GPA
• Interests? Coursework?

Experience (Most Important)

• Include iternships, employment experiences, club involvement, etc.
• Highlight your achievements and demonstrate measurable results by using metrics in your descriptions. For example, instead of simply stating responsibilities, quantify them to provide a clearer picture. For instance, you can mention managing a team of 50 members or increasing performance by 20%.
  
• Highlight Soft and Technical Skills
  • Make it versatile
  • Show your work ethic and achievements

Skills

• Check job postings at your favorite company (or positions you are applying to), include all skills that you posses from the listing
  • Find keywords from the job listing
  • Sought skills
  • Check multiple listings across platforms or similar jobs (could be within the compay ) if having trouble finding skills
    
  • Relevant coursework is just a filler, replace when you have more substance
• Need to build more technical or soft skills? Click here to start expanding your qualifications.

Differentiate Yourself

• Know your competition (check LinkedIn, Network with employees who hold the position currently)
  
• Some ideas...
  • Directed Passion (make it obvious what you are passionate about)
  • Hobbies, Volunteering, Unique Experiences, Extracurricular Activities, Personal Projects
    
  • Soft skills
• LinkedIn is the extended resume - include a link on your profile
• You have 5-10 seconds to stand out with your uniqueness. Make sure to include and emphasize any eye catchers:
  • Security Clearances or Special Work Authorization
    
  • GPA
  • Double Majors or Minors
  • Languages
• Summary: Highlight your skills – uniqueness – passion – goals

Professional Language

• Avoid complete sentences
  
• Use ‘Big words’
  • Authorship, ownership, independence and collaboration, RESPONSIBILITY
• Use words from the Job description - Look at sample job listings
• Can there be acronyms? (Usually avoid)